Trump acknowledges 'facts' shared with Russian envoys during White House meeting

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON President Donald Trump's alleged disclosure of highly classified information to Russia's foreign minister is unlikely to stop allies who share intelligence with Washington from cooperating, officials said on Tuesday.

The intelligence, shared at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, was supplied by a US ally in the fight against the militant group, both officials with knowledge of the situation said.

White House officials denounced the report, saying the president did not disclose intelligence sources or methods to the Russians, although officials did not deny that classified information was disclosed in the May 10 meeting.

Several senators said they did not know the details of the Post report, but called the news troubling nonetheless.

"As President I wanted to share with Russian Federation (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety", Trump said in a pair of tweets. In this case, "you nearly have to hope for incompetence, because the alternative is so dark", Zakaria said, hours before Trump said he shared "facts" with Russian Federation for "humanitarian reasons". "That's sort of goofy because it's very hard for a president to break laws related to classified information because he's the ultimate de-classifier", said Sasse. Critics accused him of seeking to short-circuit an investigation into whether Trump campaign associates colluded with Russians who sought to influence last year's election.

For months, US allies have anxiously wondered if President Donald Trump could be trusted with some of the world's most sensitive national security secrets.

Two of Washington's allies in the intelligence sharing network known as "Five Eyes" - which groups the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - played down the impact on their relationship with Washington. In fact, the gathering was closed to all USA media, although a photographer for the Russian state-owned news agency was allowed into the Oval Office, prompting national security concerns.

The White House maintains that Trump did not give away any information about intelligence sources and methods. An excerpt from an official transcript of the meeting reveals that Trump told them, "I get great intel".

The revelations could further damage Mr Trump's already fraught relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies. He has openly questioned the competency of intelligence officials and challenged their high-confidence assessment that Russian Federation meddled in last year's presidential election to help him win.

Gallagher said last week that he was concerned by the timing of Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, who had overseen an investigation into Russian interference in last year's US election.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson disputed the report. "Revealing classified information at this level is extremely risky and puts at risk the lives of Americans and those who gather intelligence for our country". He said Trump discussed a range of subjects with the Russians, including "common efforts and threats regarding counter-terrorism".